Mixing apparatus.



M. C. PETERS.

MIXING APPARATUS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED H325', 1911.

M c. BETBRS. MIXING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25, 1911.

1,013,612. Patented Jan.,2,1912.Y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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MILTON C. BETERS, OE OMHA, NEBRASKA.

MIXING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 25, 1911.

Patented Jan. 2,1912.

Serial No. 610,734.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON C. PETERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mixing Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus designed for mixing two or morematerials so that they become thoroughly incorporated and intermingled;it is primarily designed for the mixing of cattle feed composed ofground particles of alfalfa or other hay, with an admixture of molassesor other sweetening substance.

The invention also comprehends means for the drying of the material torelieve it of any excess of moisture whereby a damp product may bepractically kiln-dried during its passage through the machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and effectivemechanism for mixing hay products, with or without molasses or likematerial, and heating and substantially kiln-drying the material, andthereby relieving it of any excess of moisture so that when the materialis delivered from the machine it is in a dry condition ready to feed tocattle and other stock.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification and inwhich similar reference characters indicate like parts in the severalviews; Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a mixingapparatus embodying the salient features of my invention. Fig. 2 is anend view showing part of the machine in section.

vIn carrying out my invention I prefer to use a two-stack mixingmachine, but it will be obvious that the height of the machine may beincreased so as to provide for any additional number of stacks, orsuperposed chambers, in which the mixing and drying operations,hereinafter mentioned, are carried out. In the type of apparatus shown Iemploy two similar chambers with feeding devices for advancing thematerial therealong and delivering the same thorougly mixed through anal outlet. This machine includes a suitable casing or inclosing frame,10, which consists of substantially similar parts forming inclosingchambers in which the feeding devices are contained. The upper and lowersections, 11 and 12, of the casing are substantially oblong in crosssection and have curved sides, 8, and are provided with correspondingflanges, 18, and the sections are separated from each other by ahorizontal apertured partition or plate, 14, the edges of which areconfined between the flanges, 13, of the aforesaid sections, as shown inFig. 1. The casing is formed integral with the horizontal plates, 16 and17 which plates extend into the casing from one end to a point short ofthe other end, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to provide a passage, 18,between the upper and lower chambers of the casing and through whichpassage, and the aperture in the plate, 14, the material is deliveredinto the other chamber to be advanced therethrough in a directionopposite to its travel through the preceding chamber.

The inner end of the plate, 16, is shown as provided with the thickenedlug, 16, and the upper surface of this end of the plate is curvedupwardly as at 15, to constitute in conjunction with vthe similarthickened portion, 19, on the inner surface of the top of the casing, acontracted throat, 20, and an intermediate curved or upwardly inclinedsurface, 20, over and through which the material is delivered to thepassage, 18, connecting with the two chambers. The other plate, 17, hasa thickened inner end 0r lug, 21, and suitable bolts, 22, are passedthrough the lugs or thickened inner ends of the plates, 16 and 17, andthrough the intermediate partition or plate, 14, whereby these parts aresecurely fastened together; the portion of the plate, 18, opposite tothis point of connection is thickened to form the rib, 23, whichcorresponds to a corresponding rib, 24, on the bottom 25, of the casingto form a. contracted throat, with curved or inclined walls leadingthereto, through which throat the material is discharged under more orless restraint into the outlet, 26.

At the upper portion at or near one end of the casing is an inletopening, 2, through which may be passed the ground or other material tobe mixed, together with such proportion of molasses or other sweeteningmatter as it may be necessary to combine with the hay product to form adesirable feed for cattle or stock. At opposite ends, the casing isprovided with suitable removable heads, 27, having bearings, 27, withlubricating caps, 28, for lubricating the journals of suitablehorizontal parallel shafts, 29 and 30, one of these bearings at each endof the machine being recessed at 31, to house a stop or nut, 32, which Iwill hereinafter mention.

It will be observed that the casing is not only divided at its center,but that it is double-Walled circumferentially to provide a jacket intowhich steam may be admitted for the purpose of heating the chambers andthereby keeping the product in a heated state as it passes through themachine, in which case the machine acts as a drier as well as a mixer;experiments have shown that a damp product can be passed through themachine and practically kiln dried at the same time that its constituentparts are being intimately mixed. AThis allows me to mix a product whichmay contain an excess of moisture or which may be damp or notsuiiiciently cured for the intended purposes. It will be observed thatthe plates, 16 and 17, are spaced from the division plate, 14, to thusform a part of the jacket, through which .the steam passes for thepurposes before mentioned, a tight joint being effected between theplates by means of a rubber gasket, 7.

The feeding devices may be of any appro priate character, but I preferto employ for the purpose t-he devices shown in Fig. l. These devicescomprise suitable collars having outwardly extending blades set at anappropriate angle. rIhe feeding devices of the upper chamber have theircollars 31 provided with many-sided openings and each of these collarsis supplied with a suitable blade, 32. I' prefer that the openingsthrough the hubs shall be square in cross section and that the shaft,30, shall be correspondingly shaped in cross section so that the bladesmaybe set quai-tering around the shaft, and the collars will be heldwithout danger of turning, although they may be slipped endwise on theshaft in assembling the parts as I will presently describe, said shaftbeing journaled in the bearings hereinbefore mentioned.

On the shaft at a point near and substantially within the contractedthroat at the inner end of the chamber and through which throat thematerial is delivered into the chamber below, the shaft is provided witha fixed nut, 35', which forms an abutment for the end collar of thefeeding devices for this chamber.

In placing the collars upon the shaft, I prefer to slip the first collarendwise on the shaft with its blade extending vertically upward andsubstantially perpendicular to the shaft, this initial collar beingforced along the shaft until it contacts with the abutment formed by thenut, 35. The next collar is placed on the shaft with its blade in ahorizontal position; the third collar is positioned with its bladevertically downward; and the fourth'collar is placed so that its bladeex- The collars, 31, for the feeding devices of the lower chamber arepreferably each provided with two radially extending diametricallyopposite blades and they are set so that the blades of one collar willproject substantially at right angles to the blades of the succeedingcollar. Each of the collars, 31, has a square or other manysided openingand the shaft, 30, conforms in crosssection to the opening in thecollar, and said shaft is appropriately j ournaled in the bearings, 27and carries at a point near the disf charge opening and substantiallywithin the contracted throat leading thereto, the fixed nut or abutment,35, against which the first collar of the second set of feeding deviceswill abut, as shown in Fig. 1. The collars of the second feeding devicesare assembled on the shaft, side by side, and when so positioned theymay be firmly secured to each other by means of the nut, 32, threaded onsaid shaft, and housed or contained within the recess, 31 formed in theinner end of one of the bearings of the shaft, 30, as shown in Fig. 1. Asimilar nut, 32, housed within the recessed end of the bearing, 27,serves to clamp or confine the collars of the ppper feeding devices, asshown in said T ig. l.

The bearings in which the shafts are our# naled may be formed integralwith removable heads of the casing so that upon the removal of a headthe shaft and its attached hubs and clamping and stop nuts may beremoved endwise from the casing; likewise the hubs may be assembled onthe shaft and clamped to each other and inserted into the chamber of thecasing through the opening left by the removal of the head, after whichthe head may be slipped over the end of the shaft and secured in anysuitable manner.

'Ihe casing is supported upon a suitable base, 40, having verticalstandards, 41 and 42, the standard, 42, having bearings for the outerends of the shafts, 29 and 30, and said shafts carrying gear wheels, 43,which are engaged by an intermediate gear, 44, on the end of a powershaft, 45, said power shaft, being appropriately journaled in bearings46 and 47, in the standards, 41 and 42. The casing may also be providedat suitable points with man-holes controlled by suitable covers, 48, andthrough these man-holes access may be had at any time to the interior ofthe casing. If desired, the casing and in fact the entire machine,heretofore described, including its operating gearings, may be containedwithin an exterior casing, 49, of sheet metal or like material havingangleiron strengthening pieces, 50, at the corner portions.

The machine described may be termed a two-stack combined mixer anddrier, and in operation the materals to form the mixture are fed intothe inlet opening, 2, and the mass is then engaged by the blades of thefirst feeding devices and advanced through the upper chamber until theycome to the curved walls leading into the contracted throat; these wallsserve to hold back the body of the material being mixed and to somewhatretard or restrain the movement of said material at this point, therebyfacilitating the intimate admixture of said material. The material isdelivered through the discharge throat of the upper chamber and dropsthrough the passage, 18, into the lower chamber where it is immediatelytaken up by the blades of the lower chamber and conducted through thischamber in a direction opposite to its travel through the upper chamberand is finally delivered under some retardant action or restraintthrough the contracted outlet of the second chamber into the naldischarge passage. During the passage of the material through thesechambers, the heat genera-ted in the chambers by the steam jacket of thecasing, serves to drive out any excess of moisture, or the moisture froma damp product so that when the material is delivered from the machineit is in condition for use as a cattle or stock food, and during thepassage through the chambers, the molasses or other sweetening matterwhich has been added to the material, is caused to be more perfectlyabsorbed and intimately mixed with the hay products, so that the finalproduct is composed of particles of alfalfa or other hay sweetened bythe addition of the molasses.

While the machine is primarily intended for use in mixing alfalfa andother hay and molasses, it will be manifest that its use is not limitedto these products for the machine will be found of value in the mixingof materials of any character,l and particularly materials from whichmoisture should be driven during the mixing operation.

I-Iaving thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is l. A mixing apparatus having a plurality ofsuperposed chambers of greater horizontal width than height, connectingwith each other at one end, one of said chambers having an inlet for thematerial to be mixed, and the other chamber having an outlet for saidmaterial, means for advancing the material through said chambers, saidmeans including opposed co-acting mixing and conveying elements in saidchambers, and means whereby the material may be heated during itspassage through the chambers.

2. A mixing apparatus comprising superposed chambers having asubstantially oblong form in cross section, one of said chambers havingan inlet opening and the other having an outlet opening, said chamberscommunicating with each other at a point between said inlet and outlet,and said chambers having inwardly inclining walls forming contractedthroats located in advance of the outlets from the chambers, throughwhich throats the material is delivered to the outlets to be dischargedfrom one chamber to the other and from the final chamber.

3. In a mixing apparatus, a horizontally disposed mixing chamber havingan inlet at one end and a discharge opening at the other end, saidchamber having inwardly extending walls at a point proximate the inletend of the discharge opening forming a contracted throat, through whichthe material is delivered substantially under restraint into the inletend of the discharge opening, and feeding devices within the chamber foradvancing the material from the inlet to and through the contractedthroat.

Ll. In a mixing apparatus, a casing having an inlet at one end and adischarge at the opposite portion, said casing having inwardlyprojecting flanges at a point near the discharge end said flanges havingcurved walls over which the material is advanced, a shaft extendingthrough the chamber, and blades on said shaft and adapted to advance thematerial through the chamber and through the contracted throat thereof,the curved walls of said flanges serving substantially to retard thetravel of the material through the throat.

5. `A mixing apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet at oneportion and outlet at another portion, said casing having inwardlyextending flanges reducing the inner diameter of the casing adjoiningthe discharge opening and forming a contracted throat through which thematerial is discharged substantially under restraint, said casing beingof substantially oblong form in cross section and having` curved sidewalls, horizontal, parallel shafts within the casing each havingangularly arranged blades for engaging and advancing the materialthrough the cylinder, said blades acting to stir and intermingle saidmaterial, and means for operating the shafts.

6. A mixing apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet at one portionand outlet at another portion, said casing having inwardly extendingflanges reducing the inner diameter of the casing adjoining thedischarge opening and forming a contracted throat through which thematerial is discharged substantially under restraint, said casingbeingwof substantially oblong form in cross section and having curvedside walls, horizontal, parallel shafts within the casing each havingangularly arranged blades for engaging and advancing the materialthrough the cylinder, said blades acting to stir and intermingle saidmaterial, and means for operating the shafts, said casing beingdouble-walled to form a heating jacket whereby the material is heatedduring its progress through the chamber.

7. A mixing apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet at one portionand an outlet at another portion, said casing having inwardly extendingflanges reducing the inner diameter of the casing near the dis chargeopening and forming a contracted throat through which the material isdischarged substantially under restraint, said casing being ofsubstantially oblong form in cross section and having curved side walls,horizontal, parallel shafts within the casing each having angularlyarranged blades for engaging and advancing the material through thecylinder, said blades acting to stir and intermingle said material, and

means for operating the shafts, said casing having removable end headsin which the shafts are journaled.

8. A mixing apparatus comprising a casing having an inlet at one portionand an outlet at another portion, said casing having inwardly extendingianges reducing the inner diameter of the casing near the dischargeopening and forming a contracted throat through which the material isdischarged substantially under restraint, said casing being ofsubstantially oblong form in cross section and having curved side walls,horizontal, parallel shafts within'the casing each having angularlyarranged blades for engaging and advancing the material through thecylinder, said blades acting to stir and intermingle said material, andmeans for operating the shafts, said casing having removable end headsin which the shafts are journaled, and having manholes with removablecovers giving access to the interior of the chambers.

9. In a mixing apparatus, the combination of a casing dividedhorizontally into two sections, a horizontal partition fixed between thesections of the casing, each section of the casing comprising a chamberthe walls of which near one end are formed with inwardlly projectingflanges having curved walls and forming a contracted throat throughwhich the material is passed, one of said sections having an inletopening and the other having a discharge opening, said sectionscommunicating with each other at a point between said inlet anddischarge, and being double-walled to form a heating jacketcircumferentially inclosing the chambers, and means for advancing thematerial through said chambers in opposite directions.

10. In a mixing apparatus, the combination of a casing dividedhorizontally into two sections, a horizontal partition xed between thesections of the casing, each section of the casing comprising a chamber,the walls of which near one end are formed with inwardly projectingflanges having curved walls and forming a contracted throat throughwhich the material is passed, one of said sections having an inletopening and the other having a discharge opening, said sectionscommunicating with each other at a point between said inlet anddischarge, and being double-walled to form a heating jacketcircumferentially inclosing the chambers, said sections beingsubstantially oblong in cross section each having horizontal parallelshafts with blades for engaging and advancing the material through thechamber, and means for operating the shafts of each chamber in oppositedirections.

11. In a mixing apparatus, the combination with a casing having achamber and an inlet and outlet, of means for feeding material throughsaid chamber, said means comprising a horizontal shaft, collars arrangedthereon side by side having ou`twardly projectingblades, a stop fixed tothe shaft near the discharge opening, and a nut upon the outer portionof the shaft for clamping the collars against each other and against thesaid stop.

12. In a mixing apparatus, the combina-V tion with a casing having achamber and an inlet and outlet, of means for feeding material throughsaid chamber, said means comprising a horizontal shaft, collars arrangedthereon side by side having out wardly projecting blades, a stop fixedto the shaft near the discharge opening, and a nut upon the outerportion of the shaft for clamping the collars against each other andagainst the said stop,.said collars having many-sided openings and saidshaft having a corresponding cross-section whereby the collars may beset so that their blades extend at different angles, and removable endheads for the cylinder, one of said heads having a recessed portion forreceiving and housing said clamping nut.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MILTON C. PETERS. lVitnesses:

W. T. BURNS, IFI. D. KINLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

